Apple refreshes its desktops less frequently than it does some of its other devices, like the iPhone, so significant upgrades are almost a given when they do happen. This isn’t surprising when you consider that the last new iMacs shipped in June 2017, more than a year and a half ago, and the iMacs prior to that shipped in the fall of 2015. Third-party apps like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop will also get a boost.
Its Final Cut Pro video-editing software, meanwhile, should be able to handle multiple streams of 4K video on the same timeline.
Apple’s Logic Pro audio software is said to support twice the number of instruments and effects. The 27-inch iMac is supposed to be ridiculously speedy compared to the one before it. The 21.5-inch machine is supposed to deliver up to 80 percent faster graphics performance than its predecessor and up to 60 percent faster performance overall. That’s a lot of numbers to parse through to try to determine if it’s worth the upgrade, so Apple is sharing some performance claims as well. It can also be configured with a Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics card, the same option that’s available on Apple’s top-of-the-line 15-inch MacBook Pro. The 4K, 21.5-inch machine now comes with the option of a six-core, eighth-generation Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 4.6 gigahertz.
The non-Retina, 21.5-inch Mac will stay the same.
The 21.5-inch iMac, the smaller desktop, previously came in two models: one without a Retina display and starting at $1,099, and another model with a 4K Retina display and a $1,299 starting price.
But Apple is still carefully differentiating between a desktop that will appeal to families and small businesses, and the kind of iMac iPro that creative professionals will pay top dollar for. The iMac updates are largely focused on processing power, which nudge the machine closer to the performance levels of what you might consider a “pro” computer. Both of those opened for pre-orders last week and will arrive from 30 April.Apple has just refreshed its line of iMac all-in-one desktop computers, making another understated announcement in what appears to be a week of spring hardware updates for the company. The iMac has undergone a complete redesign, bringing bright colours back to the line-up and giving it a new 24-inch screen size.Īpple revealed other products at the same event, including a purple version of the iPhone and its new AirTag tracking items.
The iPad Pro also features a new display technology in the larger version. Both products feature Apple’s M1 chip, which it says should give substantial speed increases in each case. The new iMac and iPad Pro were revealed during Apple’s “Spring Loaded” event on April 20. It is not clear whether that is the cause for the delay before the release date. The leaked listing comes soon after Apple warned that some of its products – predominantly iPads and Macs – could suffer delays as the company heads into the latter half of the year. While it said specifically that pre-orders for the new products would open at 5am local pacific time on 30 April, it gave no more precise indication of when those pre-ordered products would be delivered. The company usually releases products on the same day in the UK as the US, and so if the release date is correct it will likely be the case elsewhere too.Īpple had said during its launch event only that the new products would arrive in “late May”.